How tedious and tasteless the hours
When Jesus no longer I see;
Sweet prospects, sweet birds and sweet flowers,
Have all lost their sweetness to me;
The midsummer sun shines but dim,
The fields strive in vain to look gay,
But when I am happy in Him,
December’s as pleasant as May.

His name yields the richest perfume,
And sweeter than music His voice;
His presence disperses my gloom,
And makes all within me rejoice.
I should, were He always thus nigh,
Have nothing to wish or to fear,
No mortal as happy as I,
My summer would last all the year.

Content with beholding His face,
My all to His pleasure resigned,
No changes of season or place
Would make any change in my mind:
While blessed with a sense of His love,
A palace a toy would appear,
All prisons would palaces prove,
If Jesus would dwell with me there.

Dear Lord, if indeed I am Thine,
If Thou art my sun and my song,
Say, why do I languish and pine?
And why are my winters so long?
O drive these dark clouds from the sky,
Thy soul cheering presence restore;
Or take me to Thee up on high,
Where winter and clouds are no more.

There’s something about taking pictures at this time of year–it’s just really hard to find anything colorful. Though in winter it is the nature photographer’s goal to find and showcase hidden color, there are times when it simply doesn’t exist. Hence, one must compensate with high contrast and well defined shapes. For shapes to work, however, they will usually need to be positioned against a solid background, a challenge in timberland environs. Of the many snow-blanketed trees I shot that morning, this maple was the only one that popped out enough from the background to make it worth displaying

If I were to shoot this picture again, I would lower my tripod considerably to conceal more of the distracting snow-plowed road and the black line on the bottom right of the picture. This would also have allowed more of the tree to be visible against the sky. I think the pine tree on the left gives good depth, but the dark bushes on the right are distracting, seeing they are not clearly defined. Perhaps moving closer to the tree and pulling back on the zoom would have made for a more dynamic image. What do you think?

(By the way I have so much that the Taiwanese  students and teachers gave me that even now, months later, a new surprise is “unpacked” from time to time. This Tuesday I found an art pad  I had been given from another teacher at the King Car summer camps. It was just what I needed because I had used the last page on the previous pad last week.)

These pictures have all encouraged me to use my art skills to bring glory to the Creator and joy to others.

Second compare the present America to that definition. You might be surprised at what you find.

Visit http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissuesArticles.asp?id=23909

Last Friday evening, the single staff here at Headquarters worked diligently to host a Valentine’s Banquet in honor of the directors and couples serving with IBLP. But this was no ordinary banquet! The six course meal, lavish decorations, and creatively decked tables attested to the countless hours spent in making this the most memorable event of the year! In this new photo album, you can now see a glimpse of the sumptuous event.

God’s faithfulness was demonstrated in a very big way Sunday night, January 31, 2010. What a feeling to wake up being jerked around in the back seat of a vehicle to the sound of people crying out to their Heavenly Father for safety. The vehicle malfunctioned and we  lost steering as we were driving back from Indianapolis over a bridge. The snow on the road had been plowed to the side creating a ramp up the guard wall. Had it not been that we drove up the ramp at the same spot that there was a lamp post, we would have driven right off the bridge. Instead we veered to the left, skidded down the wall, knocked down another lamp post and came to a stop with our two right wheels hanging over the bridge! God had heard our cry and no one was hurt.

   God’s faithfulness was demonstrated in a small way too. At one point when I was thrown forward, my glasses flew off and one of the lenses popped out. We searched in the dark to no avail but after opening the door to get out, it was found in a pile of glass and ice! What are the chances?! It was definitely God caring for me.

As I stood shivering in the cold, looking over the bridge at the huge river way below I thanked God for life and repurposed to live it for Him. What a comfort to know that nothing can happen to us that is outside of God’s control.

“East”, as opposed to “the West”, refers to the Old World: Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia. China, Japan and the other countries of eastern Asia can be called the Orient or the Far East because they are the furthest east. Israel, Egypt and the Arab nations however form the middle of the eastern world and that is where we get the term Middle East. (As maybe you’ve guessed, there is no Western East!—except to say that Europe as a whole is generally referred to as western because of its culture and its languages.) Note also that the Middle East is not far from the middle of the Land Hemisphere, that half of the globe which encompasses the most land area.

While Britain, Canada and the United States have always displayed an interest in Israel it was news to me when I heard of the interest shown in the Orient. Here is an encouraging report on the interest in Israel that has been sparked in the Philippines. I’ve been blessed by many such reports from the Joshua Fund and I hope that you will enjoy it also. (By the way, it was this small but reputable nation, the cluster of islands called the Philippines, that cast the deciding vote for Israel’s statehood in 1948).

“When a boy or girl thrusts his small hand into yours, it may be smeared with chocolate ice cream, or grimy from petting a dog; and there may be a wart under the right thumb or a bandage around a little finger. But the most important thing about his hands is that they are the hands of the future. These hands are the hands that someday may hold a Bible or a Colt revolver; play the church piano or spin a gambling wheel; gently dress a leper’s wound, or tremble wretchedly, uncontrolled by an alcoholic mind. Right now that hand is YOURS. It asks for help and guidance. It represents a full-fledged personality in miniature to be respected as a separate individual whose day-by-day growth in Christian adulthood is your responsibility."

Wow. Lord, be our Guide!